Queen Sun Taizhen (孫太真) (died 976)''

Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiguo Chunqiu'' (), is a history of the Ten Kingdoms that existed in southern China after the fall of the Tang Dynasty and before the reunification of China ...

'', vol. 82. was the first wife of

Qian Chu Qian Chu (September 29, 929 – October 7, 988, courtesy name Wende), known as Qian Hongchu before 960, was the last king of Wuyue, reigning from 947 until 978 when he surrendered his kingdom to the Song dynasty. Life Qian Chu came to power aft ...

(King Zhongyi), the fifth and final king of Wuyue of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

Background

It is not known when Sun Taizhen was born, but it is known that she came from the Wuyue capital Qiantang (錢塘, in modern

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...

). The historical records did not state her heritage, but it is known that she had at least one younger brother, Sun Chengyou (孫承祐), who would later become a prominent general for Wuyue (and later, for

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

). She was said to be elegant, serious, intelligent, and wise. She was said to be proper and humble in her dealings with both her relatives by blood and by marriage. She was also said to be studious, being able to understand the Mao edition of the ''

Classic of Poetry The ''Classic of Poetry'', also ''Shijing'' or ''Shih-ching'', translated variously as the ''Book of Songs'', ''Book of Odes'', or simply known as the ''Odes'' or ''Poetry'' (; ''Shī''), is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, c ...

'' and the Lu edition of the '' Analects''.''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Ten Kingdoms'', vol. 83. It is not known when she married

Qian Hongchu Qian Chu (September 29, 929 – October 7, 988, courtesy name Wende), known as Qian Hongchu before 960, was the last king of Wuyue, reigning from 947 until 978 when he surrendered his kingdom to the Song dynasty. Life Qian Chu came to power aft ...

(who later changed his name to Qian Chu) — whether it was before or after he became king in 948''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song (960–1127), Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959&n ...

'', vol. 287. — but she was said to be already "serving" him in her youth, suggesting that they were married early.

Queen Consort

Around new year 948, Qian Hongchu took the throne after his brother and predecessor,

Qian Hongzong Qian Hongzong (錢弘倧) (c. 928 – 971?), known as Qian Zong (錢倧) during Song, courtesy name Longdao (隆道), nickname Wanjin (萬金), formally King Zhongxun of Wuyue (吳越忠遜王), was the fourth king of the Chinese Five Dynasties an ...

, was overthrown in a coup led by the general

Hu Jinsi Hu Jinsi (胡進思) (died April 28, 948) was a general of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period state Wuyue, becoming powerful during the reign of its third king Qian Hongzuo (King Zhongxian). After Qian Hongzuo's death, Hu had frequ ...

. Later in 948,

Liu Chengyou Liu Chengyou () (28 March 931Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter – 2 January 951), also known by his posthumous name Emperor Yin (), was the second and last emperor of imperial China's short-lived Later Han dynasty, during t ...

, the emperor of Later Han, to which Wuyue was a vassal, created Qian Hongchu the King of Wuyue,''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 288. and, presumably, at that time or shortly after, created Sun Taizhen a lady. She was said to be frugal and did not wear elaborate jewelry except at feasts. Later, during Later Han's successor state

Later Zhou Zhou, known as the Later Zhou (; ) in historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty and the last of the Five Dynasties that controlled most of northern China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Founded by Guo Wei ( ...

, she was given the title of Lady Xiande (i.e., "worthy and virtuous") of Wuyue. In 955, she gave birth to Qian Hongchu's first son, Qian Weijun. In 972, by which time Later Zhou had been succeeded by

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

, Song's Emperor Taizu gave Lady Sun the greater title of Lady Xiande Shunmu (i.e., "worthy, virtuous, obedient, and concordant") of Wuyue. When Qian Hongchu (who had changed his name to Qian Chu by this point to observe

naming taboo A naming taboo is a cultural taboo against speaking or writing the given names of exalted persons, notably in China and within the Chinese cultural sphere. It was enforced by several laws throughout Imperial China, but its cultural and possibly r ...

for Emperor Taizu's father

Zhao Hongyin Zhao Hongyin () (899-956) was a military general in Imperial China's Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. After his death, his son Zhao Kuangyin founded the Song dynasty in 960. His other son Zhao Kuangyi would also become a Song emperor. F ...

),'' History of Song'', vol. 480. as a Song vassal, attacked Wuyue's northwestern neighbor

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

's Chang Prefecture (常州, in modern

Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

) in 974,''

Xu Zizhi Tongjian ''Xu Zizhi Tongjian'' (續資治通鑑; "Continuation to ''Zizhi Tongjian''") was a book chronicling Chinese history of the Song dynasty between 960 and 1279 and the Yuan dynasty between 1279 and 1370. Credited to Bi Yuan (畢沅; 1730–1797), a ...

'', vol. 8. Lady Sun stayed at the capital Qiantang to oversee it. She frequently visited the generals who remained and the family members of the generals who followed Qian Chu on the campaign, to comfort them, and it was said that the people obeyed her as they did the king. Jiangnan fell in 975, and in 976, Qian Chu, whose Wuyue realm was now directly contiguous with Song proper, decided to go to the Song capital

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the No ...

to pay homage to Emperor Taizu. Lady Sun and Qian Weijun went with him. Emperor Taizu gave Qian Chu great honors, and as part of honoring Qian Chu, created Lady Sun the queen of Wuyue. When they were departing Kaifeng, Qian Chu offered a tribute of gold coins to the Song emperor, and Queen Sun offered a tribute of gold vessels to Song's Empress Song. Queen Sun died in late 976.

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 83. * ''

'', vols. 8, 9. , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Taizhen 10th-century births 976 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from Hangzhou Wuyue people Later Han (Five Dynasties) people Later Zhou people Song dynasty people